Power supply and motherboard issue

[Tjaden]

So I got a new build and stuck my old PSU with my new kit. Here's what Im running:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371018
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131757http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500194
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416

Now here's what puzzles me. It was all plugged in and set to go. I hit the power switch and everything kind of flashes like it's going to boot up (LED lights and all). Then I hear a small pop and it all goes dead. I fiddle with the wires a bit check everything and again same results. So I tested my friends 650W PSU, that has all 20pin slots with cables and scokets, and the computer turns on! Full power everything running.
Later I examined the cables and my 850W PSU was missing one black wire on the main 20Pin plug (Came this way). Later found the motherboard to be DOA. Either cause of the pop or what idk. Newegg is replacing.

NOW!
I traded PSUs with my friend. The 850W works great for them. It's fine. 650W works in my old build and started up the DOA board+everything else.
The question is, should I be concered with getting my replacment and going back to my 850W PSU? If I do plan to get a new PSU with 800W+ what should I get to ensure it will have all full 20 pins and work just like the 650W.

 

[Lutfij]

welcome to the forums newcomer!

that antec psu is really old to go into that system of yours...the pop sound would mean that the PSU's capacitor popped.

Why did you get a DOA board? thas the first thing that comes to mind when getting a device. I can't say for sure that the board didn't take out anything else in the process...it'll be a matter of time until your going to experience glitches - something to think about when you look back at the PSU/mobo failing.

what dya mean by full 20 pin? mobo's even the ones you linked have 24 pin connectors for the mobo power and a 4/8 pin atx 1.9~2.0 connection.

 

[Tjaden]

Well one idea was that it was just old. I didnt get a DOA, only after I actually got my friends PSU in did I find it was DOA. Oh well cant win em all. I just said 20 pin to be simple. Dont need to get the other 8 pin and the extra 4 invovled when they are not the issue here. I made an observation of having 19 cables going into the 850W PSU and 20 going into the 650W PSU 20 pin connector. Which led me to believing that was the issue. Since it was a black cable missing me thinking it was a ground wire which caused the short.

 

[Lutfij]

fine - I'll just address the last question - get an NZXT Hale90 850W PSU - its modular and is 80+ gold rated.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116012

can't go wrong with them. I would've advised a few other brands but seeing how good this unit really is and the looks of it. I can't help but recommend it

See if you can sell the antec off. Wouldn't want a faulty PSU taking out $500~$1000 rig..:/ IMO

 

[Tjaden]

Ye fair point. I was thinking of trying to sell it off. So to confirm, my PSU is just...old? Too old to support new tech? If that's the case I will chalk that up for future builds to keep in mind. Unless there are any specifics that I'm overlooking.

 

[Lutfij]

PSU's are made mostly of capacitors. When a PSU is subjected to long hours of usage and under hot/humid or even dry conditions, the psu's capacitors take damage - relax its called aging and they produce leaks or cause swelling of the capacitors. They later become less efficient and they have lower output.

if it were a quality psu, they'll die silently. But if it were an el-cheapo psu - they go out with a bang!

 

[briansklein]

I would definatly go with a 800 PSU or more. Try Zalman's 850 dual heat pipe multi raid PSU i have it and love it. Has a load of differnt cable options so you dont load your case full of unused cables.

 

[Tjaden]

Gotcha, so it's just showing its age. Best get a new one before it blows out on my friend. Been a couple years, guess I should be lucky it didnt go KABOOM on me. Suppose that shows it's good or I'm just lucky.

 

[Lutfij]

well my chinese PSU on my P4 rig went kaboom infront of me with my friends as my witnesses - they claimed they were innocent and they saw nothing :lol:

i lost $1000 worth of hardware in the process - thas when i learnt of getting a branded, quality PSU to power ANY rig. FYI you can read the Power supply guide link in my signature that should give you a better idea/knowledge of PSU's

 

[Tjaden]

Cheers! Will do. I was thinking maybe 750W. Since I only have the 1 graphics card. Dont know if it's worth going SLI yet with this graphics card. Im new to the company but for the price and ratings it had it was worth a go. CORSAIR, Antec, and SSeasonic seem fair. What should I avoid other than Diablotech.

Final note, how long you think how much life my Antec has left in it? Had it about 3 years almost. Dont want my friend to suffer from this ><

 

[Lutfij]

If the list to avoid is introduced - we'll come up with names you've never heard of, or will hear in the future. But we can tell you what to stick to;

Antec
Corsair GX, CX
Seasonic
XFX's range from 550W above
NZXT hale 90 (and yes you can find them in ranges from 550W all the way to1000W PSU's - mind you the 550 W is the only one in the range thas not modular)
Thermaltake - i've used the TR2 420W, Toughpower 600W and now using toughpower grand 750W.

have also used the xfx 450W and its quite sturdy.

to answer the latest ques - pick up a kill-a-watt meter and hook it to your psu - it'll show you how much the psu is pulling and consuming.

and if your sticking to 750W then here you go bro

 

[Tjaden]

I did some calculations, with 1 Graphics card I would need 450W. With two I would need like 650W. I'll search Antec first, since it proved its 3 years worth. Still I guess my old one is toast now? So I shouldnt even bother trying to sell it huh?

 

[Lutfij]

well keeping it will be of no use to you either - so go figure bro maybe kick it around for soccer practice

how about this go here and punch in the numbers - see how much power YOU REALLY NEED while this is more precise but not entirely prcise

 

[delluser1]

Well one idea was that it was just old. I didnt get a DOA, only after I actually got my friends PSU in did I find it was DOA. Oh well cant win em all. I just said 20 pin to be simple. Dont need to get the other 8 pin and the extra 4 invovled when they are not the issue here. I made an observation of having 19 cables going into the 850W PSU and 20 going into the 650W PSU 20 pin connector. Which led me to believing that was the issue. Since it was a black cable missing me thinking it was a ground wire which caused the short.

A cable missing is fine, the -5v rail had been optional for many years ( gone from the ATX spec now ) and the SG 850 doesn't have one.
Should be a white cable though. If that isn't the case you should be talking with Antec support.
You've got one of the best psu's ever manufactured and at 850 watts it would take an awful lot of abuse to make it " show it's age "

 

[Tjaden]

Suppose I could check on what the warranty says. Forgot to think about it. Good reminder! Well the long calculator took me to almost 700W with everything I would put in my PC, IE 2 graphics cards 2 HDDs, More PCIs than I would use, etc just to make sure.

Note* I looked it up, it has a 5 year warranty! So I guess I just need to explain to them what's going on. Any other suggestions for this battle? I know people dont give in easy on their warranties. Plus technically it still "works". Worked for my friend last night so I guess my argument would be it cant support the higher workload Im requesting from it?

 

[Lutfij]

better to be prepared then worried.

 

[Tjaden]

True but I am concerned of one small thing. When I was doing diagnostics on trying to see what was wrong with the computer when I was booting it I removed everything but the Mobo, CPU, and RAM. I still got the same results. So if my power demand is about 300W and my friends is running at least 450W. How did the PSU work for them but not for me even when my power demand was about 1/3 less?

I only bring this up cause if they do replace it, I dont want to go through all this again and have it be because there is a wire missing on the 20pin slot. As mentioned before it could be a -5v. I dont know alot on PSUs, my only guess was a ground wire because if anything ground wires come and go from my experience. One computer has it the other doesnt. Any feedback on my concerns?

 

[Lutfij]

sell existing psu and buy a new one - well provided you don't buy a pseudo "new" psu from ebay off of a shady/dodgy buyer.

 

[Tjaden]

Suppose I could do that. I just feel like I dont want to dish a bunch of money out again for a new PSU...maybe I could get one from warranty, buy a new one, sell the one I get off warranty. Fair deal?

 

[Lutfij]

your choice to go the long route via the coast of Columbia to reach Washington from new york - i know that sounded like a bad joke

 

[Tjaden]

Aye but Im a cheapskate. Cant help it. Alright I think that's a safe bet. Get some money out of it. Get a new PSU that's newer. I suppose the other alternative would be if Antec didnt have mine in stock anymore and offered me a newer one. Sometimes they do that.

 

[Lutfij]

:/ sometimes - but if that psu took everything out - the support team would pay for everything inside your case but yeah that sounds a better option to sell existing psu and pick up a fresh one

 

[Tjaden]

Lol not bad. Ok so I'll find another and go from there. Thanks for racking my brain to figure this out ^^ Probably saved me about 100$ minus one square soccer ball. But in the end the sell warranty one and buy brand new one is the safest and most cost efficient option!

 

[Lutfij]

trust me i'd first find a use for a bad psu and then see if it can be played literally

I got off my hands a Thermaltake Toughpower 600W PSU cos it was with me for a while. I sold it off @ a decent price and i know my pal wouldn't push the unit like i did with OC'ing. So i got some cash - added it to my wallet and picked up a Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 750W psu. I reckon he can still use it to OC his H67 chipset mobo. But yet be able to keep my pal solidly content for some time to come

 

[delluser1]

Aye but Im a cheapskate.

Along with being one of the best psu's made it was one of the most expensive, hard to imagine a " cheapskate " buying one to begin with.

As mentioned before it could be a -5v. I dont know alot on PSUs,

Match your connector up with this
http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#atxmain20plus4
Is the missing pin in the same place ? It's the -5v.

But in the end the sell warranty one and buy brand new one is the safest and most cost efficient option!

I traded PSUs with my friend. The 850W works great for them. It's fine.

Might put a couple of dollars into your pocket, of course if there's nothing wrong with the psu you'll get the same one back, hard to imagine it's a bad psu when it works with your buddies system.

Your motherboard link brings up a page of Asus boards, does the model you have/had include the Anti-surge protection ?
It doesn't get along with some powersupplies and is fixed by turning the feature off in the bios.

The whole idea of " buy a new power supply " when you don't know the cause of the issue is rather silly.